FHM article - Do something or don't?

[Electrocat]

Who wants to do something about the article in FHM?

[SilverDragon]

I can't say that we shouldn't so ANYTHING, but you can't really do too much.. if you start to piss them off then they will post more bad things about us just to piss us off.. truely, we can't say for sure how big assholes they are though, so we must consider carefully

[Rakuen Growlithe]

I think you're wasting your time.

How come you make a poll for everything that gets discussed?

[Electrocat]

I like polls and it gives everyone a graphical way of seeing everyone's opinion.

Stop your beef with my now.

[anoyomouse]

As much as i'd like to say take a stand, i'm too passive

i think FHM is trying to get topics that would drive extreme groups to riot ...

honestly i don't think they know there is actually a fandom in the country, it's a lot easier to make fun of a group if you don't thinkt there's anyone in it in the country.

in a way i'd love to bring the good side of furry to light, but i like being a lurker, also, the bad things in the fandom tend to be what everyone focuses on, and nothing else >.<

it's very one sided, and i wouldn't know what to do, if you go against them then you tend to get lumped with the drama-furs, so meh

also Rauken, polls are a good way of discussing things that are contraversial topics, get people's oppinions about stuff, and i like them, they can also resolve things better, which is how democracy is supposed to work, if you don't like it then don't vote, simple.

[Kodey]

Any1 have the link to the article? What was it about?

[RankHusky]

They're just gonna make it backfire against us. :/ But it would be nice to see us try and stand up for our simpler stuff, and not just the creepy fursuit sex

[anoyomouse]

i agree with Yukon, let's try make an artical that's non-biased and shows the good side, going against them directly is exactly what they want.

Let's not do drama, but let's make a stand by showing the side everyone neglects

[Kodey]

I agree, but we must make a stand all in all. We cannot let someone say such horrible stuff about our furry family. I think it's wrong how they discriminate against us like that.

[Rakuen Growlithe]

Just to clear something up the article's not discriminating against furs. Since there's no actual link to it, all we know is what Yukon's said, unless someone else has read it and can say more, and from what he's said the articles factually shaky and skewed but not discriminatory. Be careful what you accuse them of.

Like I said in the other thread, wikipedia apparently has an excellent article on the furry fandom.

[Kodey]

I saw the article there, it's a video on their site. I cant access it coz you have to be a member to watch it. Sowwy I jumped to conclusions. I just get riled up by people saying stuff like that...

[Yukon]

I labelled it discriminating because people will perceive furries in general based on what they saw in the article. I know we're all meant to be open-minded and I fully understand there are many furs who like that sort of thing; I am not discriminating against those furs. Every fur takes it to different levels, but you must understand the impression left on the average person who has not been introduced to the furry world is consequently rather negative. A person starting to take an interest in furries (but not (yet for many) yiff and/or deeper curiosities) would more likely do a u-turn or become a background lurker upon exposure to such perceptions.

If they had an article about zoophiles in FHM and explained that most of them are furries (which is actually rather factual), and kept punting the point of "most are furries" as a core focus, would you still say this is not discriminating against furs, even though little over 10% have any related interest (this fact of course would be neglected in the said article)?

Would you still be proud to say you are a furry to your best friend, family member, or any friend for that matter? It would be a little more pressuring, wouldn't it? Having to go through the further explanations to them "no, wait, it's not what you think!", coz u know what they're thinking, coz they saw that FHM article...see what I'm getting at? It doesn’t even matter if you really do go that far or not, the stereotype created is still damaging. I for one would like to be less embarrassed about calling myself a fur to my friends, family and girlfriend.

We here are all very accepting people, but others are not, and this sort of publicity can be rather detrimental to those that are not so accepting or open-minded, and those that believe what they see and read in the media. In short, I don't like they way they unscrupulously gave the perception to most that this is what being a furry is all about. I know it wasn’t directly intentional or even specified that all furs like this sort of thing in the article, but sadly, this is what most South Africans will take in as their first impression of “furries”.

[Rakuen Growlithe]

Whether people see things differently because of it still doesn't justify calling it discriminatory. That is the wrong word. I pretty much agree with what you're saying but not the way you're saying it. On the other hand since it sounds like they made yiff out to be abut people in animal costumes that's probably not going to get a huge negative reaction. It's not all that different from dressing up as a French maid and saying all the animal words people use to refer to sexual prowess. Dressing up for sex is done by pretty much everyone.

As for the zoo article it wouldn't be discriminatory. Prejudiced maybe, and not very ethical but not discriminatory. Discrimination is when you're favouring someone over someone else because of what they are. That's not happening here. This is a factual (rather shakily) article about the fur fandom.

I'm not planning on telling them about the furry thing because it's a whole bunch of explaining I could do without in the first place. But no I don't think it matters what the perception is. Since you're explaining you can get rid of all the wrong impressions then.

I would say they intended to give the impression, mainly because it will make the article much more interesting to other readers. But you must take a few things into account as well. People will misinterpret the most well-explained articles, especially in this incredibly uneducated country. Secondly is FHM a respected and accurate source of information? There's that old joke about buying FHM for the articles. People buy FHM for one reason. Soft porn. Also I doubt they are respected as an accurate source of information.

Lastly I know it's not a flattering picture of furries but you're going to have to get used to it. People will insult and make fun of us, and it'll happen more as we get more exposure. Why? We're grown up and pretending to be animals! We dress up in animal costumes, purr, growl, bark and nuzzle. That is funny and weird. If people didn't make fun of us I'd start wondering what was going on.